James Bantugan

Maya Efrat
Tristan Hennerty
Andrew Schwefler
AP English 12
Mrs. P. Bradley
5 October 2016
Comparisons Between Summer Reading and Beowulf
Save the Cat Comparisons:
Opening Image
Shield and his warrior band gain respect with Danes and rules
them, even though they are foreigners.
Set Up
Hrothgar, the warrior king of the Danes has built a great hall,
Heorot, with his fortunes for his people
Theme Stated
The theme is honor and glory. Heroes are meant to follow a
warrior code and are expected to die in battle. The theme is also the
transformation of an angsty teen to a great leader.
Catalyst
Grendel begins his assault on Heorot, killing many of Hrothgars
men every night for 12 years
Debate
Beowulf and Hrothgar discuss who will fight Grendel. It was
agreed that only the Geats would fight while the Danes took refuge elsewhere.
Break Into Two (Choosing Act Two)
Hrothgar agrees to let Beowulf fight Grendel unarmed with only
Beowulfs men to back him up.
B Story
The Danes have a celebration prior to the fight with Grendel.
The Promise of Premise
Beowulf starts to fight Grendel. As promised, he fought
barehanded.
Midpoint
The midpoint begins when Beowulf is victorious over Grendel and
rips his arm off. Beowulf presents Grendels arm to Hrothgar, who then rewards
Beowulf with with treasure. They then celebrate the defeat of Grendel.
Bad Guys Close In
Grendels mother tries to avenge her fallen son by killing
Hrothgars closest friend, Aeschere, and taking her sons arm back.

All is Lost

Beowulf is asked by Hrothgar to fight Grendels mother. He goes

to fight and is given Hrunting and other gifts to aid him in is fight. He enters the
lake.
Dark Night of the Soul

When Beowulf sinks to the bottom of the lake into hell and kills
Grendels mother.
Break Into Three (Choosing Act Three)
Beowulf returns to his home land and becomes king a few years
later. His tribe then enters a period of peace and prosperity for 50 years.
Finale
Beowulf and a party of warriors embark on one final adventure to
slay a dragon. Beowulf falls in battle, but with the help of Wiglaf manages to
defeat the dragon before he passes. Beowulf died an honorable death in battle.
Final Image
Beowulf has his funeral. The Geats lay him to rest in the mound
above the treasure he secured from the dragon. The Geats build a great
lighthouse as a beacon to guide their warriors to their homeland.

Aristotles Forms Comparisons:

Prologue/Parode
The tale of Shield and his rise to glory with the Danes
Episode
Beowulfs fights with Grendel and his mother.
Exode
Beowulfs Funeral
Stasimon
Beowulfs final fight with the dragon and his death in battle
Reversals of the Situation
Grendels mother seeking revenge for Beowulf defeating her son
and tearing his arm off
Recognitions
Beowulf is awarded with an abundant amount of treasure and
respect for his heroic deeds, for examples swords, horses, a goblet, and a boat
filled with gold and other treasures. He also gave the dragons treasure to his
people upon his death. The Geats honored him by constructing a lighthouse atop
his grave.
Scenes of Suffering
Grendel terrorizes Heorot, Grendels mother seeks revenge, the
dragon seeks the thief who stole his golden goblet.
Plot
The plot begins with Beowulf and his men sailing to the Danish
lands to assist the king, Hrothgar with his Grendel problem. Upon arrival, they
are greeted by a coast guard and are escorted to the king in Heorot. There,
Beowulf proposes to fight Grendel singlehandedly to repay his fathers debt. On
the night of the final Heorot raid, Beowulf and his men fight. They realise their
weapons are useless against the beast and Beowulf resorts to strangle and
wrestle with Grendel. The fight ends when Beowulf rips off Grendels arm as he
tries to flee the battle. Peace returns to Heorot once more.
The second part begins when Grendels mother takes revenge
against the Danes for harming her son. One night, she attacked Heorot and killed

one of Hrothgars closest friends, Aesher. Beowulf is then called upon to slay
Grendels mother. Geared up in full armor and weapons, Beowulf and a party of
men travel to the location of Grendels mothers lair. Beowulf dives into the lake
and encounters seamonsters, and after a few hours, encounters Grendels
mother. As expected, he struggles to kill her since his weapons were ineffective.
Out of nowhere, there was a convenient sword that had the power to kill
Grendels mother. Wielding the sword, Beowulf slays her and cuts off Grendels
head as proof of his victory. This section ends when Beowulf is rewarded well for
his quest and returns home as king.
The final part of the epic begins 50 years later when a Geat thief
steals a golden cup from a treasure stash left behind from an ancient people. A
dragon that was guarding it went seek for the stolen cup. Seeing this as a final
opportunity to die in glory, Beowulf and a band of men venture to slay the dragon.
Eventually, they encounter it and Beowulf decides to fight alone. Unfortunately,
his old age hinders him from fighting effectively, as the dragon blew fire and bit
him with its venomous teeth. One of his warriors, Wiglaf, had the courage to fight
and supports Beowulf before he would fall. Together, they slay the dragon and
claim all of its treasure. In the end, Beowulf dies in a blaze of glory and is given
an honorable funeral. Wiglaf then takes his place as the next king of the Geats.
Character
At first, Beowulf seems childish and aggressive. He is anxious for
battle and goes seeking it, however he still has some qualities that could be
developed into a great leader, as he is already the best warrior of the Geats
After his fight with Grendel, Beowulf becomes more mellow and
diplomatic. Even more so after his fight with Grendels mother.
Finally, Beowulf becomes older and wiser. He becomes king of the
Geats and leads his people through years of peace. He continues to honor his
warrior code as he always has and seeks death in battle.
Spectacle
The battles with Grendel, Grendels mother, and the dragon
Thought
Honor and glory
Following the warrior code
The transformation from an angsty teen to a great leader
Song
Each song sung by the bards in the halls of Hrothgar
Sigemund the dragon slayer
Hnaef, King of Danes and how he met his death